Raphael's photo thread

[Bassetluv]

TreasuredFriend wrote:

Dear Raphael, I'm sending lots of grooming kisses.Your mom is a terrific lady. My mom TreasuredFriend heardabout you from naturestee. Please givemymumtime to review all the postings and photos ofyou!! I wish I could hop over and begin licking yourforehead, Love from disabled Karla in Wisconsin

Dear Karla,

Raph here! Hey, I'd love it if you'd lick my forehead, since my partnerAnna seems to just want to sit on my head. :? She has noclass at all! Messes up my 'do and rips off my cool pants , thentosses her head and runs away. hhhmmmppphhh! Maybe if she knew she hada little competition that would straighten her out. Hey, I'm sorry tohear you're disabled too; did you know there's a whole lot of us bunsout there? It's okay...it just makes us more special (and we tend to beable to bribe a lot more treats from our moms cuz of it).

Ask your mom to post your pic if she has one; I'd love to see you! (Andwe won't whisper a word of it to you-know-who *coughAnnacough*). Andtell your mom that she's definitely a special person for taking care ofsuch a sweet girl like you!

Love, Raph

P.S. You can lick my forehead all you want - I'd be forever in your power - but just remember 'watch the hair! watch the hair!'

 

[Bassetluv]

bat42072 wrote:

how is raph doing... my prayers are with you and raph...

--becky:angelandbunny:

Thanks becky...Raph's doing very well lately! (crossing fingerswhenever I say that) He seems a bit more mobile lately - can movearound in his cage more than before...I will find him on his otherside, or sitting at the back of the cage, or facing the other directionthan the one I left him in; for the longest time after he stoppedwalking he could barely even hold his head up. His appetite is back tonormal once again too, and he's frisky - when my cat Tasha sat next tohim the other day, Raph reached over and quick as a flash he tried tochomp her! Luckily I was sitting next to him and thwarted his attemptto sculpt an entranceway into my kitty's side. Ever since Anna joinedthe family, Raph has been extremely jealous of the other animals,mostly the cats, and won't tolerate them going near him. When he wasstill mobile he would charge at them in the backyard, slamming intothem and giving them quite nasty nips - never broke skin, but sure didtake a chunk out of their dignity. :?He also used to do thatto me whenever I was near Anna...would charge at me from under theblackberry bushes. All I'd see was a mean blue bunny erupting from thebranches, ears flying and teeth bared, and I'd be hightailing it out ofthere! Raph nipped me a few times, never hard enough to do damage, butenough to let me know he was boss of the yard. I could just imaginewhat theneighbors would have thought if ever they saw me outthere, running like crazy from this ornery little beast with enormousears. Of course most of the time I didn't have to run far, as Raphwould almost always either take a tumble because of his legs, or he'dwind up tripping over his own ears and falling flat on his face.(Whenever that happened he'd pick himself up with a 'you didn't seethat' look, shake his head and scurry back underneath the bushes,totally embarrassed.)

Raph's days of being Anna's knight in shining armor may be over, but hestill rules the roost. And with me, he is now the sweetestcompanion...I am constantly getting nudged with his head and coveredwith kisses. I'm really looking forward to summer weather getting hereso I can take him out in the yard; he'll be able to lie under thebushes in the shade and take in all the sights and sounds. I'm surehe'll love that! Till then though, he's my date every evening to gettogether and watch tv. (Oh, and btw, he thinks Sanjaya's going to winAmerican Idol...:shock

 

[binkies]

He is such a trooper!Give him some lovin' from me pleae.

 

[Bassetluv]

Absolutely, I will...thanks binkies!

 

[TreasuredFriend]

RAPHAEL !!!! You wrote back!! I won't tell my husbun BarryBear that we areemailing each other. My mum needs to figure out howto post pictures. Oh, don't mind about your hair.Gentlemen with a ruffled rugged look appeal to me. You aregrey like my husbun BarryBear. I hope we can keepemailing each other this way. I was flattered that you'd wantto see a picture of me.

My mum opened up a book called Rabbits: Gentle Hearts, ValiantSpirits. Would your mom like to have a copy ofit? Does she have time toread??You know iwas going to beeuthanized at a shelter in June 05 when my mum rescuedme. I just think rabbit guardians who look after us- even if we're different from normal bunnies and we can't hop-would like to read inspiration tales onothercaretakers with disabled bunns. Please accept somemore kisses, hang in there and thoughts are with you each andevery day. Love, Karla

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Of course most of the time I didn't haveto run far, as Raph would almost always either take a tumble because ofhis legs, or he'd wind up tripping over his own ears and falling flaton his face. (Whenever that happened he'd pick himself up with a 'youdidn't see that' look, shake his head and scurry back underneath thebushes, totally embarrassed.) Raph's days of being Anna's knight inshining armor may be over, but he still rules the roost. And with me,he is now the sweetest companion...I am constantly getting nudged withhis head and covered with kisses. I'm really looking forward to summerweather getting here so I can take him out in the yard; he'll be ableto lie under the bushes in the shade and take in all the sights andsounds. I'm sure he'll love that! Till then though, he's my date everyevening to get together and watch tv. (Oh, and btw, he thinks Sanjaya'sgoing to win American Idol...:shock

i'm sorry, Raph. sanjaya got the boot.
you're a tough little guy and you're one of my mostest favoritestbunnies online. wish my babies and i could meet you and play with you.i tell my babies about you often. mocha definitely thinks your diapersare se-xay and wants to include you in our bunny body pile. you havethe best mum in the world.

 

[jcottonl02]

Wow...he is absolutely gorgeous.

I think English Lops (that is what he is, right? lol) are so beautifuland they look very intelligent for some reason- I think it may be thelonger faces.

How old is Raph?

He is very beautiful and you are very lucky to have him

Jen

 

[Bassetluv]

Hey, Karla,

Tell your mum that pics aren't hard to post. All she needs is an onlinehosting site, like Photobucket (my mom uses that one). She can uploadpics there, then copy the url to any that she wants to post. Tell herto click on the 'insert image' icon on the tool bar in her reply box(that funny-looking one with the 3 balloons), and a box will pop up.She can then paste the url of her pic there and it will show up here! Ihope she's able to, as I'd love to see what you look like.

So I had a trip to the vet's about a week ago (the place my mom takesme where there's all these weird animal smells...and a tall man in ajacket pokes and prods me...he has no manners whatsoever!). Idunno what they were doing, but I had to lay on a cold table and havemy picture taken. My mom will explain what it was when she gets back onthe computer (she doesn't know I use it, so I have to be extra carefulnot to leave any evidence on the keyboard...strands of hay and bits ofoats tend to give her clues). Oh, and that book sounds great...my momreads a lot, and has a lot of catching up to do, but I will tell herabout that one so she'll know about it for later.She says Iam so special that all of her time is spent taking extra care of me.Which of course, doesn't make my head swell with pride oranything...but I do now make the other furry house members call me 'SirRaph'. (Well, the dog anyway...I'm still working on the cats.)

I can't believe they were going to do away with you at that shelterplace....grrrrr (my rabbit growl). Imagine...your mom saved yourlife...she must be the most special mom in the entire world!! I'll betyou give her lots of hugs and kisses every day for that. She's yourhero, for sure! :inlove:

Bunny hugs,

Raph

 

[Bassetluv]

i'm sorry, Raph. sanjaya got the boot.
you're a tough little guy and you're one of my mostest favoritestbunnies online. wish my babies and i could meet you and play with you.i tell my babies about you often. mocha definitely thinks your diapersare se-xay and wants to include you in our bunny body pile. you havethe best mum in the world.

Geez....I knew he'd get kicked off. I was kinda getting used to hearingthat weird squawky human voice every week when mom would turn on thetv. Oh well...there's always next year, when he can try again. But Istill say the contest would be better with a rabbit or two on there.Maybe the white bunny from that Skittles commercial could try out? Andthen if Simon dissed him, he couldignore him with a verysincere 'bunny butt'....hehe...

And thanks to Mocha for the compliment on my bunny duds! I'da pickedthem out myself, except the big stores where my mom shops havesomething against sexy rabbits being in there. Guess they're too afraidthat I'd draw so much of a crowd from the females that a riot wouldbreak out or sumthin'. (Nope, no vanity there...)

Thanks, tailof2rabbits...I'll tell my mom what you said about her too...bet she'll turn all red in the face...

Bunnyraph hugs to you and your crew!

Raph

 

[Bassetluv]

Hi Jen,

Yep, Raph's an English lop (they're my most favorite breed in theworld...so much loving personality!). He turned 2 in February, so isjust a young guy yet. I know what you mean about them looking moreintelligent too; not sure what it is - with Raph anyway - but he doeshave a very large head and very large eyes, so that might contribute.Or...maybe I'm just biased.

Unfortunately, the longterm prognosis for him is not great. I had somex-rays taken of Raph's body a couple of weeks ago and just found outwhat the second set showed. The first one, taken of his lower half, wassurprising...we'd thought his leg joints were worse than they actuallyare (Raph has luxating patellas in both hind legs). But they aren't allthat bad, and his spine didn't look too bad either, except in a coupleof spots where it looked a wee bit odd. But it was the other set ofx-rays that revealed what's really going on with him...the vertebraestraight down his neck, running from the back of his head to hisshoulder area, are all squished together and deformed, which is what'scausing his pain and his non-ability to walk now. And the vet pointedout one spot and told me that one of the vertebra looks fractured...soit seems Raph has a broken spine, right at the shoulders. There'snothing that can be done for him except keep him comfortable aspossible and out of pain, for as long as he wants to be around. I didexpect that there wouldn't be much the vet would be able to do, but wassurprised at how large an area is affected, and was even more surprisedto hear he has a fracture too. But Raph perseveres, and he sure isteaching me a lot about dealing with adversity. He's a tough littlenut....

Thanks Jen...:hug2:

 

[LuvaBun]

I'm sorry that the x-rays showed how much of aproblem poor Raph actually has to deal with. What a brave little soulhe is - and he has such a good mommy to care for him, too! Isthere anything that caused the fracture, or is it just a result of hiscondition?

Give him an (extra large) ear rub from me.

Jan

 

[binkies]

Oh bless his little heart! I can't imaginedealing with what you are going through. You are a very strong person,not to mention very caring and wonderful.

Thank you so much for not giving up on him.

 

[Bassetluv]

Thanks Jan and binkies...

I don't know what could have caused the fracture; I am assumingthatwith his condition, Raph's vertebrae are probably brittle(I didn't ask the vet about it...guess I was kind of shocked when hetold me about it). He'd been sensitive around the neck/shoulder areafrom the time he arrived almost two years ago, so it's possible hecould have had it even before I got him. When he was shipped to me hiscarrier had a tiny bit of hay at the bottom and nothing else - not evenenough to cover the bottom - so during the flight he might have slippedaround in it. It might also explain why, when I contacted the breederafter receiving Raph, she said he didn't display any signs of a problemwith his hind legs...the day after I got him I suspected something wasvery wrong, as he tumbled so much and seemed to have problems keepinghis feet under him. If he had a rough flight and was jostled about, thejoint problems might have shown up for the first time after he arrivedhere.

At any rate, I now know to be extra careful aroundRaph'sshoulder area. I always had been anyway, since he had always displayeda sensitivity there - he gets muscle spasms when touched in that area -but now, after seeing the x-rays, I'll be extremely careful whencarrying him or moving him about. Poor Raph has had so manyproblems...sometimes it feels so unfair. But he deals with it a lotbetter than me at times. :?

 

[jcottonl02]

Yes- I think that if I was ever to get another rabbit I would adore an english lop lol. And what a lovely name- Raph.
I am so sorry to hear that about Raph, but it sounds as if you reallycare for him and treat him so well. I am not very knowledgable aboutrabbits at the moment as I've only had Benji about 4 months..the onlything I really know about body-wise and the different things that canhappen to them are that they can break their back when kicking. But itsounds as if Raph has a wonderful life with you and you try and makehim as comfortable and pain free as possible- and to be honest- I don'tknow how long ago all those pictures were taken but he looks veryhappy- washing his feet etc.
I was at the vets today helping out, and was helping clean this rabbitthat had fly strike. I can't descibe how horrible and upsetting it was-but the rabbit had to be cleaned etc. so I didn't mind at all touchingmaggots (the disgusting little buggers), and then I found out this wasa rabbit kept at a nursery, and that is why it had gotten so badwithout someone noticing. How cruel.
That really brings it home how wonderful people like you are, caringfor an animal so well and treating it with the upmost respect and loveit deserves.
Well done you; he looks so happy.
Jen

 

[dajeti2]

:tears2i, I just finishedreading this wholethread. My heart goes out to you and Raph. I'm so sorry to hearhehis is having the problems he is, but am thrilled he hasyou. It's so heart warming the love between you both. Hugs toyou from all of us here at the Acres and please give Raph some extralovin' for me.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh man, that stinks. PoorRaph. You tough little sweetie pie-you!:muscleman:You keep on perseveering (sp).

I can't imagine that happening on a plane, but I guess you neverknow. Maybe Raph will tell you someday how ithappened. Give some pats and kisses from me, he deservesthem!

 

[Haley]

Bassetluv wrote:

Poor Raph has had so many problems...sometimes it feels sounfair. But he deals with it a lot better than me at times. :?

Di, you and Raph are both amazing. As always, sending lots of prayers your way.

 

[Bassetluv]

Thanks everyone...I haven't been around a wholelot in the past few days (two reasons: busy at work training a summerstudent, and I just haven't felt up to posting). Raph is doing okay,not quite as perky as he usually is, buthe does go throughperiods like that. He is refusing to drink, even from a syringe, so I'mtrying to get water into him through soaking his veggies. The vetsuggested I make him a slurry with his pellets, carrots, apples,etcmixed with water- even though he is still eatingsolid food - so I tried that and he seems to like it. That will helpwith his water intake too. His pain management seems to be still okay,as his appetite falls off when he is feeling too much discomfort, buthe's still eating a lot and he's pretty alert...just not drinking. Irecall one member of the disabled rabbits forum saying that theirdisabled rabbit also refused to drink fluids, and got most of it fromhis veggies instead, so hopefully Raph will do okay with that.

Thanks so much for all the best wishes and support!

Di and Raph

(Jen: ewwwwww to the maggots...the poor bunny!)

 

[dajeti2]

Thank you for updating us. I'm glad he's eating for you. Will pray he starts drinking on his own for you.

 

[binkies]

He is a great example for many of the humans I know. He doesn't give up, no matter what!